Do you recall a time when you studied for a test and recalled that the answer to a question lay in your notebook…it was on the right-hand page…in the upper right corner…. Do you recall precisely where you were when you heard of the attacks on 9/11? Consider how often your brain gives you mental pictures to help you recall information. Today, let's put it to the test!

What is a teacher (or parent, co-worker, peer, etc.) to do when a gifted individual asks a question that seems utterly, well,… nonsensical? A question that makes him look—not so much uninformed or even innocent, per se—but rather “scattered” instead of “gifted.”

For the parents of the very young and gifted, this is indeed a tricky time of childhood to navigate: his mind and brain is ready and eager to explore and express itself but often his physical abilities to do so are limited. But there are ways to help your child express his full potential. Let's get to it.

Michaelangelo is credited with commenting that, “If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.” Persevering against boredom in the very face of that boredom is what builds tenacity, skill, and the patience to solve long-term problems.

I have had this conversation, or similar ones, many times over. Once we finally get there, at the heart of it all, will lie two central debate points. One is the age old question of Nature versus Nurture. The other will focus on how we ultimately define and assess the quality of “gifted-ness.”

We, as teachers and parents, are at a pivotal point in time now wherein the apexes of both educational theory and brain research just might overlap. Making use of these understandings, that is actually “applying the science to the art” of teaching and parenting, is what will, in the end, help our children be able to take the next grand steps on their own.

Some gifted children have an official ADD or ADHD diagnosis, yes, but many others may not—despite the fact that they may be as equally affected, even in some cases debilitated, by the problems of chronic distractibility. Here, then, are a few tips for parents who find themselves ready to throw in the towel with their distractible gifted child.

Filling a child’s schedule to the hilt is what many parents perceive as an act of love and unconditional support of his/her talents. But while the intention is pure, the results and the effects of that can be exhausting and possibly even counter-productive.